Process of producing from crude petroleum purified asphaltic residues



Patented Sept. 7, i926.

an or or SIDNEY W. MOSS, OF MORRISTO\VN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE DELAVAL SEPARATOR COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OI NEXVJERSEEZ'.

PROCESS OF PRODUCING FROM CEUDE PETROLEUM PURIFIED ASPHALTIC BESIBUES.

No Drawing.

the content of insoluble matter isa desidera tum.

Thus, in the paving of streets with asphalt, if insoluble matter ispresent to' l any great extent, the tendency is for the paving toseparate from the street foundatlfllli A well known source of asphalt iscrude petroleum, the asphalt being left as a. residue after the firstdistillation. This asphalt being virtually a by-product in the mineraloil refining industry, it can be profitably sold at a price less thanthat commanded by natural asphalt, but it contains so high a proportionof insoluble material that it cannot satisfy all requirements and cannotcommand the price that it would command if the larger part of theseinsoluble products could be removed.

vIt has not been found possible to remove these impurities from theasphaltic residue in petroleum distillation, and it is very doubtfulwhether any process can ever be devised "for a really economicpurification of this 3Q r vdue. p

I have discovered, however, that the crude petroleum prior todistillation may be treated in such manner that when distilled theresidual asphalt will contain less than one-half of one per cent ofinsoluble matter and will meet the most exacting requirements of usersof asphalt.

Havingthus disclosed the object and result of my invention, IWlllpIOCOGd to set process which I believe to be the best.

forth that mode of execution of my new Application filed September 29,1922. Serial No. 591,212.

perativc to use any particular t pe of separator, but I have secured thebest results by using a separator of the type set forth in the SnyderPatent No. 1,283,343, dated October 29, 1918.

The purified petroleum is then led to a second still, preferablywithoutpermitting the temperature thereof to fall very substantially below thetemperature of the initial heating and the temperature is then raised tothat required to distill. ofi'i the desired products. It is preferred toavoid-loss of heat in conducting the petroleum to and from thecentrifuge by insulating the pipin and the centrifuge.

fhe success ofthe process is due, in my opinion, to the :fact that mostof the stances which, in the ordinary distilling pres ess, remain in andcontaminate the asphalt, are of a specific gravity not only higher thanthe distillate but higher than the distillate and asphaltic materialvi...ich, to. ether, may be regarded as pure naturai crude petrolcum,and due also the ilact that one of these heavier contaminating materialssalt water which, heinn frcc'fiowing l i tion, capable of c M acts, inthe centritugei ope rier for the other contaminating of the impure crudepetroleum, and such ingredients te iiow ottwith, or b sludged out by,the salt. we through the" heavier discharge outlet of the centrifuge. Afurther function of the preliminary purification of the crude petroleumis to prevent the formation of additional impurities, principally scale,in the distilling process itself. r

Inasmuch as the heat advisable, if not absolutely required, forcentrifugal. separation, is conserved and utilized in the distillingoperation, the only added expense of the process is that involved in thefirst cost of the centrifuges and in the power and labor required tooperate them. This expense, however, is more than oll'set by the factthat the initial centrifugal purification of the crude petroleumprevents the deposition of salt, silt and other impurities in the stillsused for se arating the as halt. Such deposition forms a scale, whichacts much as me a boiler scale to pit the plates and causes great lossin transfer of heat, with. consequent bulging of the plates pf thestills.

Attier distillation, therefore, in the ordinary process, it is necessaryto allow the still to cool down and then remove the scale from themaximum eilicieney. It is therefore possible by my rocess, to produce apurified asphaltic derivative of crude petroleum at a cost less thanthat required, by the present process, to produce an impure and lessvaluable derivative.

Having nova fully described my invention,

What I claim and desire to protect by Let. ters Patent is:

The method of producing, from crude petroleum that is contaminated withinsoluble impurit es, an asphaltic derivative having a minimumpercentage of impurities, which comprises heating the petroleum to adistilling temperature in two sta es and subjectin; the petroleumbetween t 1e first and second heating vstages to the action ofcentrifugal force to eliminate therefrom the major part of its contentof insoluble im- Ful'itics, thetemperature of the second stage cingmaintained until an asphaltic residue is left, whereby the deposition ofsalt and other in'ipurities in the high temperature still is minimizedand an asphaltie derivative produced which contains substantially lessthan two per cent of insoluble matter.

in testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, atPhiladelphia, Penna, on this 28th day of Se tember, 1922. SIDNE W. MOSS.

